Sweeping Semi
The VIU Mariners are off to the gold medal match with a semifinal victory
VIU Mariners 3
Camosun Chargers 0
The defending PACWEST champion Mariners punched their ticket to the gold medal match with a three-set sweep over the #3 seeded Chargers on Friday to open the championship tournament.
The Mariners took complete control in the match with a pair of 25-16 victories to put themselves in the driver’s seat. Regan Ingram was outstanding at the net and the service line pacing the Mariners through the first two sets. Grace Brisebois and Lauren Hoard gave their team some secondary scoring and Grace Greene and Sara Hughes dominated the middle.
In the third set, with their backs against the wall, the Chargers played with desperation and pushed the pace of play. Erica Bolink started to heat up and unofficially finished with 10 kills and was named the Player of the Match.
Despite her offensive punch, the Mariners kept it close and pushed the set to extra points and finished off the Chargers with a 29-27 victory. Ingram finished the match with 10 kills unofficially and several aces from the service line. Setter Edan Wade ran a great offence that was balanced and got a number of her teammates involved and was named the Mariners’ Player of the Match.
The Mariners will play for gold trying to win their third straight on Saturday night while the Chargers will play for bronze on Saturday afternoon.